"It feels amazing to be honored with his incredible award," Bunbury said. "I have to give all the credit to my teammates and our coaching staff because I wouldn't have been able to accomplish this without them."

"I also want to thank the University of Akron administration and our fans because they also played a huge role. I'm blessed to be able to play the game that I love and this is a special night for me."

Bunbury, who also was named the Soccer America Player of the Year, scored 17 goals for the Zips, who lost to Virginia in the final on penalty kicks.

Last year, Steve Zakuani star was the first runner-up for the Hermann Trophy as a sophomore.

"It a tremendous honor for Teal and certainly for our program," said Akron coach Caleb Porter. "We accomplished a lot this year and this is icing on the cake. It is really a credit to how hard Teal has worked because I don't think I have had a player work harder to get better than him. As a freshman, he came off the bench and scored six goals. This year, he stepped up and scored 17 goals, was the conference player of the year, an All-American and now has earned the Hermann Trophy."

Like Zakuani, Bunbury signed a professional contract with Generation adidas and will forgo the final two years of eligibility to enter the MLS Super Draft.